Colston quietly earns respect for toughness

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; METAIRIE, La. &#8213; All you need to know about Marques Colston is that two weeks after surgery to fix a broken collarbone, he was back on the field, catching passes and helping the Saints.
At least, that’s according to quarterback ...

METAIRIE, La. ― All you need to know about Marques Colston is that two weeks after surgery to fix a broken collarbone, he was back on the field, catching passes and helping the Saints.

At least, that’s according to quarterback Drew Brees and, well, are you not going to listen to the owner of several NFL records and New Orleans’ collective football voice?

“He came back and he was playing probably earlier than most guys would,” Brees said. “I think that speaks to his toughness and that he wanted to come back and contribute. But I don’t think he was 100 percent.”

So that’s why, 10 games into the season, Colston re-acquainted the football-watching public with his name with an eight-catch, 113-yard performance against Atlanta.

Since then, Colston has had three more 100-plus yard games and two multi-touchdown games.

“I think he’s really been consistent,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “He’s made a lot of big plays for us not only outside, but inside for us, on third down and in the red zone.”

In fact, Colston emerged midway through the season as one of Brees’ go-to players on third down. Of his 80 catches, 23 came on third down, tied for ninth-most in the NFL. And only six players had more than his 348 yards on the down.